Ex-GUNS N' ROSES Manager VICKY HAMILTON Believes She Can Help End Feud Between AXL ROSE And SLASH

April 9, 2015

Vicky Hamilton, who is best known for managing the early careers of GUNS N' ROSES and POISON, in addition to serving as a management consultant for MÖTLEY CRÜE, recently launched a crowdfunding campaign for the release of her memoir, titled "Appetite For Dysfunction".

"I decided to write the book because I'm going to be 57 and the memories start to fade and I just want to get it down and document it," she tells U.K.'s Daily Mail.

"I absolutely helped [GUNS N' ROSES] find their way.

"Who knows if they'd even have all lived while they were living in that rehearsal hall having bonfires and doing God knows what?! There was no one looking after them, which is just scary."

Hamilton, whose relationship with GUNS N' ROSES came to an end after they signed a major-label deal with Geffen, tells Daily Mail that she thinks she could help squash the long-running feud between GUNS N' ROSES lead singer Axl Rose and guitarist Slash, paving the way for a reunion of GUNS N' ROSES' classic lineup.

"We shared so much history it would be nice to be able talk to [Axl] and give him a hug and say it's all good," she said.

"I sometimes think that if I had Axl and Slash in a room together that I could fix it. There's a difference in how you deal with people when you grow up together with them.

"They know I love them for who they are. I loved them when they were nobody.

"I didn't have an ulterior motive other than to help them be as good as they can be and I think I was successful in that.

"I saved them from making major mistakes."

In the book "Watch You Bleed: The Saga Of Guns N' Roses" by Stephen Davis, Vicky stated about what it was like dealing with Axl Rose during the band's early days: "He was so damaged. Today you'd call it bibolar. He was either childlike, or a dog from hell. I loved him dearly, but I also felt sorry for him because he could not trust anyone and already had big issues with paranoia and control."

She added in a separate interview with Rolling Stone: "[Axl] has this very likable little-boy personality, and then he has the demon-dog-from-hell personality. The color of his eyes actually changes when he goes into this different person."

After helping GUNS N' ROSES land the deal with Geffen, Hamilton had a falling out with the group "because I had borrowed $25,000 for the band from Howie Hubberman [a vintage guitar expert who formerly owned Guitars R Us, a highly revered guitar store located on the Sunset Strip], and that was not included [in the deal with Geffen]," she told the Metal Sludge web site. "Howie was looking at me to get paid back, and every month the guys in the band would say, 'Yeah, we'll handle it.' But they never did, and I was not going to be left holding the bag for $25,000, so I eventually had to sue them. It was kind of ballsy, but I had to do it."

She continued: "The statute of limitation was running out, so I hired a litigator who served [then-GUNS N' ROSES guitarist] Slash in front of the Cathouse one night. I actually wound up getting $35,000, which was $25,000 for Howie Hubberman, $5,000 for the lawyer and $5,000 for me to get a new apartment because that was never included before."

Original GUNS N' ROSES drummer Steven Adler later said: "Vicky Hamilton — awesome woman! I wanted her to be part of it after we signed — because she got us signed. What happened was not my idea, and I did not have enough say-so in it [to do anything about it]."

Added Slash: "We lived at her house, and she busted her ass twenty-four hours a day. She couldn't pay her rent because she spent all the money she could get her hands on trying to get us off the ground. She was the only person that — way back when we were doing our first gigs — she'd say, 'You guys are great, you're gonna make it. ' I've gotta tip my hat to her."

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